A WIN EACH FOR DARIO BUSI AND DARREN OATES AS 24TH SEASON OF SA’S MOST SUCCESSFULSERIES KICKS OFF AT ZWARTKOPS

Date:16 Mar 2020

Author Type:Press Release

Author:Volkswagen South Africa

Source:Volkswagen South Africa

Oettinger Polo Cup lives up to reputation while providing a usual spectacle

A maiden pole position followed by victory in race one for Capetonian Dario Busi

Oates twin Darren took the second win of his career in race two

Several talented youngsters progressed to the next phase of their careers

Busi leaves Zwartkops with the championship lead

Pretoria. The 2.4km of tarmac at Pretoria’s Zwartkops
Raceway hosted
the first battle of the 2020 Polo Cup, now sponsored by famous tuning brand
Oettinger. And as with the 23 seasons before this one, the Oettinger Polo Cup
did not disappoint, keeping race fans on the edge of their seats. When the
final checkered flag was waved and the times for both heats were added, Dario
Busi walked away as the winner of Round 1 of the 2020 championship.

The weekend started with three practice sessions on a damp circuit
following early morning rain on Friday. It was, however, the first
opportunity for all the drivers in the series to finally gauge their pre-season
pace against the competition. There were early indications that fans were in
for a treat with the majority of the field setting very competitive times,
including a newcomer to the series Jean-Pierre van der Walt and Capetonian Jurie
Umpie Swart who went fastest in two of the day’s three sessions.

It all came down to Saturday morning’s qualifying session, and more
specifically the Superpole session where the fastest six drivers from the
formal qualifying each gets one flying lap to determine the final starting
order. This adds to the excitement of the series while also adding a bit of
extra tension and nerves when it comes to the competing drivers. Swart did not
manage to turn his pre-race pace into pole position. Instead, it was fellow
Capetonian Dario Busi who set a time of 1:11.386. This was just three-tenths of
a second faster than Justin Oates who in turn forced Natalian youngster Clinton
Bezuidenhout into third. Swart set the fourth-fastest time just a few fractions
of a second ahead of the second Oates twin Darren and
Delon Thompson who rounded out the top 6.

Just like in Formula 1, qualifying in the Oettinger Polo Cup is
extremely important. The cars are so evenly matched often with only thousands
of a second separating them that it takes great skill and sometimes risk to
fight your way through the pack. Busi didn’t have to do this as he managed to
fend off a determined pack during the early stages of race one. In fact, the
top drivers could be covered by a blanket during the first few laps and
although a few of them attempted to make a move here and there, the top order
remained largely unchanged with Busi controlling it from the front. As the laps
starting to run out, the Capetonian used the last of his push-to-passes to open
up a slight gap which he managed to hold onto until receiving the checkered
flag. The winning margin was a comfortable 4.9 seconds. Justin Oates was in the
second Polo across the line with young Clinton Bezuidenhout claiming the final
podium position, less than half a second back. Unfortunately for Swart who
started the race in fourth, he dropped down the order to finish behind Delon
Thompson, Matt Shorter and Arnold Neveling. Stiaan Kriel crossed the line in
eighth just ahead of Darren Oates and Adrian Wood who rounded out the top 10. In
the post-race paddock, Dario Busi was overjoyed with his first-ever win: “It
was a great race and a fantastic feeling to be able to control it from the
front. This must be the best-handling car I’ve ever driven. Let’s see if we can
get another podium in the next race,” he said.

The starting order for race two is determined by a lucky draw and on this
occasion, luck favoured the Oates twins with Darren and Justin drawing number
one and two respectively. Busi would start the race from the second row
alongside Jean-Pierre van der Walt with Arnold Neveling and Jurie Swart
completing the top six. There was very nearly a collision between the two Oates
twins shortly after the lights turned green which allowed Van der Walt to make
the most of the situation. He is classified a master courtesy of the fact that
he’s older than 35, but this was, in fact, Van der Walt’s first race weekend in
the Oettinger Polo Cup. The Johannesburg businessman fought off a fierce attack
from Darren Oates and Dario Busi, and halfway through the race, he made a small
mistake in turn five. A small mistake, however, is all that these guys need and
before he knew it, he had slipped down to fifth.
Darren Oates was the new leader and came under severe pressure from
Dario Busi, but like Busi in race one, Oates was able to defend his advantage
and cross the finish line with a winning margin of just under two seconds over
Busi. Arnold Neveling crossed the line in fourth ahead of Jurie Swart and early
race leader Jean-Pierre van der Walt.

When the times for both races were added to determine the day’s overall
results, it was no surprise to see the name of Dario Busi at the top of
standings ahead of Justin Oates and Clinton Bezuidenhout.

“The guys at the front of the
field gave us two very competitive and for the most part also clean races,”
commented Mike Rowe, head of Volkswagen South Africa’s Motorsport division.
“They all drove very well and set the scene for a very competitive season ahead
of us. The Oettinger Polo Cup is also all about developing future stars and
with that in mind, there were also a few noteworthy results, albeit from a
little further down the order,” added Rowe. Round 1 of the 2020 Oettinger Polo
Cup saw a number of young drivers making the step to the big league for the
very first time. Most of these kids learnt their trade in the world of karting
and other single-seater formulas before climbing into a tin-top with
front-wheel-drive for the first time this weekend. The best of these was
Bloemfontein youngster Stuart White who finished his first weekend in 13th
overall. 15-year old Jayden Els would have been much higher up than 16th
overall was it not for missing a few gears at the start of race one while the
two teammates Nathi Msimanga and Baksi Komane ended their weekend in 18th
and 19th respectively. Kyalami karting star Kwanda Mokoena finished
a credible 15th in race one, but was forced to retire from race two
dropping him down the overall order at the end of the day.

“It’s dangerous to make any predictions in motorsport and with so many
fast and talented drivers all staking their claim so early on it’s impossible
to predict how this year’s championship is going to end. But one thing is for
certain. It’s going to be very exciting,” Rowe concluded.